ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 629 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 369,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,712,000 after acquiring an additional 127,073 shares during the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $544,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $289,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $144.12 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68. The firm has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.29.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.